KR20080030100A - Plasma processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a plasma processing apparatus which can perform uniform processing even when a substrate to be processed has a large area. The plasma processing apparatus propagates microwaves introduced into wave guide tubes (102) to dielectric plates (104) through slots (103), and performs plasma processing to the surface of the substrate (107) by converting a gas supplied into a vacuum container (101) into the plasma state. In the plasma processing apparatus, a plurality of waveguide tubes (102) are arranged in parallel, a plurality of dielectric plates (104) are arranged for waveguide tubes (102), respectively, and partitioning members (106) formed of a conductor and grounded are arranged between the adjacent dielectric plates (104). The in-tube wavelength of the waveguide tube (102) is adjusted to be an optimum value by vertically moving a plunger (111). Furthermore, unintended plasma generation is eliminated in a space between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member, and stable plasma can be efficiently generated. As a result, high-speed and uniform processings, such as etching, form forming, cleaning, ashing, can be performed.

Description

Plasma Processing Equipment {PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus. Specifically, It is related with the plasma processing apparatus which can process a large area substrate uniformly.

In the plasma treatment method, a specific gas is converted into plasma to generate highly active ions and radicals (free radicals), and the ions and radicals are used to perform etching, film formation, cleaning and ashing on the surface of the substrate to be treated. The processing method to perform is said. Plasma processing apparatus means the apparatus used for implementation of a plasma processing method. Energy for plasmalizing the gas is often given by electromagnetic waves. In manufacturing processes such as semiconductors, solar cells, and flat panel displays, a parallel plate plasma processing apparatus or an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus using a high frequency of several MHz to several 10 MHz is used as a medium of energy for converting gas into plasma. Also known are electron cyclotron resonance plasma apparatuses that use a microwave of 2.45 GHz and a direct current magnetic field of 875 gauss and use the cyclotron motion of electrons in the plasma and the resonance phenomenon of microwaves to effectively plasma the gas.

In recent years, it has been found that high-density plasma can be efficiently generated only by application of microwaves without using resonance, and attention has been paid to a plasma processing method and a plasma processing apparatus using the plasma. As a plasma apparatus of this kind, an apparatus for propagating microwaves introduced into a rectangular waveguide through an opening (called a slot) of a waveguide and propagating through a dielectric plate, and converting a gas introduced into a vacuum container into a patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open) Patent Publication No. 2005-141941). The plasma excited by the microwaves by such a technique has a high plasma density and low electron temperature compared with the plasma excited by high frequency, so that it is possible to perform excellent processing at high speed and without damaging the substrate. There is this.

Inside the waveguide, a standing wave is generated due to interference between the reflected wave and incident wave caused by reflection by the slot or reflection at the short-circuit of the waveguide cross section. In order to excite the uniform plasma, it is necessary to uniformly and efficiently emit microwaves from all slots, so that the slots are arranged at equal intervals at the positions of antinodes of standing waves. The doubled pitch of standing waves becomes "λg / 2" with "n" as the natural number and "λg" as the internal wavelength in the waveguide. Therefore, if the pitch between slots is set to "n x lambda g / 2", uniform plasma can be generated.

By the way, when the type, pressure, microwave power, etc. of the gas introduced into the vacuum container are changed, the wavelength in the tube changes. If the wavelength inside the tube deviates from the optimum value, the intensity of the microwaves emitted from each slot becomes uneven, and the uniformity of the plasma deteriorates. For this reason, there exists a problem that the conditions for obtaining a uniform plasma are limited.

In addition, the actual internal wavelength does not completely correspond to the design value according to the dimensions of the waveguide, the dielectric constant, the impedance variation of the contact portion, the frequency variation, and the like, and it is common that the deviation occurs for each device. In particular, in a large plasma processing apparatus, since the waveguide is long and the number of slots for each waveguide is large, deviation from the optimum value of the wavelength in the tube greatly affects the uniformity of the plasma. Therefore, even if the conditions to be used are limited, it is difficult to always generate a uniform plasma, and there is a problem in that the characteristics are different in particular for each device. Substrates such as semiconductors, solar cells, and flat panel displays have tended to have large areas, and plasma processing apparatuses have also grown in size. It is clear that these problems related to the uniformity of the plasma will become more and more current in the future.

During the plasma treatment, the temperature of the dielectric plate rises (may exceed 400 ° C) due to the incidence of ions in the plasma, and the dielectric plate expands. When the dielectric plate expands and contacts an adjacent member, expansion is suppressed and excessive stress is applied to the dielectric plate, which causes the dielectric plate to break. For this reason, a desired gap is required between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member. The larger the dielectric plate is, the larger the amount of expansion increases. Therefore, for a large dielectric plate, the gap must be set large.

On the other hand, when this gap becomes large to some extent (for example, 0.1 mm or more), there arises a problem that an unintended plasma is generated in the gap. When the plasma is generated in the gap, since the energy of the microwave is used unnecessarily, not only the plasma generation efficiency is lowered, but also the uniformity and stability of the plasma are remarkably impaired. With the large area of a board | substrate, a dielectric plate also becomes large. It is clear that the problem of generating plasma in the gap between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member becomes increasingly present.

In the plasma treatment, the flow of gas in the vacuum vessel affects the uniformity of the treatment, so the method of introducing gas into the vacuum vessel is important. In particular, in the film formation process, uniform film formation cannot be performed unless the gas necessary for the plasma treatment is uniformly released over the entire surface of the substrate to be processed.

By the way, for example, in the plasma processing apparatus of patent document 2 (Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 9-63793), since it is the structure which introduces gas from the periphery of a to-be-processed substrate, it is a gas in the center part of a to-be-processed substrate. The rectifier of is formed. For this reason, uniform processing cannot be performed and there exists a problem that it can use only for a limited use.

On the other hand, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-49442), the dielectric plate is a shower plate having a plurality of gas discharge holes, so that the gas can be uniformly discharged over the entire surface of the substrate to be treated. Can be. By the way, since the dielectric plate is exposed to strong microwaves during the plasma treatment, an unintended plasma may be generated inside the gas discharge hole opened in the dielectric plate. In order to suppress generation | occurrence | production of the plasma in a gas discharge hole, the diameter of a gas discharge hole may be made small. In actual use conditions, diameter may be 0.1 mm or less, for example. However, in a dielectric plate made of a hard material such as ceramics or quartz, a large number of small holes can be uniformly opened, requiring a high level of skill and cost and time. In addition, a problem arises in that a film adheres during the plasma treatment and the gas discharge holes are clogged.

[Patent Document 1]: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-141941

[Patent Document 2]: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-63793

[Patent Document 3]: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-49442

Disclosure of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The problem to be solved is that when the substrate to be processed has a large area, it cannot be uniformly processed.

Means to solve the problem

In this invention, in order to solve the said subject, the container which a plasma is excited inside, the microwave supply system which supplies the microwave required to excite a plasma in the said container, and the said microwave supply system are connected, and a some slot is connected A plasma processing apparatus having an open waveguide and a dielectric plate for propagating microwaves emitted from the slot to a plasma, the plasma processing apparatus comprising means for adjusting the wavelength of the microwaves propagating in the waveguide from outside the waveguide. A plasma processing apparatus is provided (claim 1).

Preferably, the part of the conductor wall which comprises the said waveguide may be comprised so that it may move from the exterior of the said waveguide (claim 2). The waveguide may be a rectangular waveguide, and may be configured to move at least a portion of the E face (narrow wall surface) tube wall of the waveguide from the outside of the waveguide (claim 3). A plurality of rods inserted into the waveguide may be provided, and the rods may be configured to move the rods from the outside of the waveguide (claim 4). A first dielectric member may be provided in the waveguide, and the first dielectric member may be moved from the outside of the waveguide (claim 5). The wavelength may be adjusted by changing the frequency of the microwave supplied by the microwave supply system (claim 6).

Moreover, according to this invention, the container which a plasma is excited inside, the gas supply system which supplies a gas in the said container, the microwave supply system which supplies the microwave required to excite plasma in the said container, and the said microwave supply system 1 or 2 or more waveguides, the plurality of slots of which are opened, a plurality of dielectric plates for propagating microwaves emitted from the slots to the plasma, and a mounting table accommodated in the container and placed thereon. A plasma processing apparatus is provided, wherein a plurality of the dielectric plates are formed for each of the waveguides, and a partition member made of at least part of a conductor is formed between adjacent dielectric plates (claim 7). .

Preferably, you may form a plurality of said waveguides (claim 8). At least a part of the airtight holding part between the inside and the outside of the container may be formed between the surface of the slot side of the dielectric plate and the container (claim 9). The pitch in the traveling direction of the microwaves propagating in the waveguide between the dielectric plates and the pitch in the traveling direction between the slots may be set substantially the same (claim 10). The pitch of the advancing direction between the slots may be set to be substantially the same as the natural multiple of "1/2" of the microwave wavelength propagating in the waveguide (claim 11). The pitch in the advancing direction between the slots may be set substantially the same as "1/2" times the wavelength (claim 12). A second dielectric member may be formed in at least a portion of the inside of the slot (claim 13). A plurality of second dielectric members having different dielectric constants may be formed in at least part of the slots (claim 14). A third dielectric member may be formed in at least part of the inside of the waveguide (claim 15). The waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, and the slot may be opened in the H plane (wide wall surface) of the waveguide (claim 16). The waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, and the slot may be opened in the E plane (narrow wall surface) of the waveguide (claim 17). You may be provided with the function which adjusts the wavelength of the microwave which propagates in the said waveguide from the exterior of the said waveguide (claim 18). A part of the pipe wall of the waveguide may be configured to move from the outside of the waveguide (claim 19). It may be provided with the some rod inserted in the said waveguide, and may be comprised so that each said rod may be moved from the exterior of the said waveguide (claim 20). A first dielectric member may be provided in the waveguide, and the first dielectric member may be moved from the outside of the waveguide (claim 21). The thickness of the dielectric plate may be set in accordance with the distance from the slot facing the dielectric plate (claim 22). The space between the partition member and the mounting table may be set shorter than the distance between the dielectric plate and the mounting table (claim 23). The partition member may have a gas discharge function for releasing the gas introduced from the gas supply system into the container (claim 24). The said partition member may be equipped with the some gas discharge | emission hole for discharging gas in the said container (claim 25). The partition member may include a gas flow path for guiding a gas introduced from the gas supply system to the plurality of gas discharge holes (claim 26).

Moreover, the method of manufacturing a product by performing a process using these plasma processing apparatuses is provided (claim 27).

Effects of the Invention

According to the present invention, by forming a means for adjusting the internal wavelength from the outside of the waveguide, and by adjusting the internal wavelength of the waveguide by the means, the internal wavelength is always optimized even if the use conditions such as gas type, pressure, microwave power, etc. are changed. It can be kept at a value. For this reason, a uniform plasma can always be generated in a very wide range of use conditions. For example, it becomes possible to respond flexibly to the process performed while changing use conditions continuously. Moreover, even if there are various deviations in the manufacturing of the plasma processing apparatus, the tube wavelength can be set to an optimum value, so that even if the plasma processing apparatus is enlarged, uniform plasma can be easily obtained.

In addition, according to the present invention, a plurality of waveguides are provided, and a plurality of dielectric plates are formed for each waveguide, whereby the dielectric plate is remarkably miniaturized and the influence of thermal expansion of the dielectric plate is reduced. The gap can be set small. For this reason, even if the substrate to be processed has a large area, there is no problem that an unintended plasma is generated in the gap between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member.

In addition, by forming a plurality of gas discharge holes in the partition member, the pitch between the gas discharge holes can be set small. For this reason, a gas is uniformly supplied over the whole surface of a to-be-processed board | substrate, and the uniform process without a deviation is attained. Moreover, since the partition member is made of a conductor and is grounded, and a microwave electric field is applied inside the gas discharge hole, there is no problem of unintentional plasma generation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows one form of embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of this invention in cross section (Example 1).

It is a figure which shows the A-A cross section in FIG.

It is a figure which shows the B-B cross section in FIG.

4 is a diagram showing an electron density distribution on a substrate in a direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis.

It is a figure which shows the plunger position (h) dependency of the electron density distribution on a board | substrate in a waveguide axial direction.

It is a figure which shows the frequency (f) dependency of the electron density distribution on a board | substrate in a waveguide axial direction.

7 is a view showing a cross section of a gas discharge part provided with a gas hole forming bolt.

8 is a view showing a cross section of a gas discharge portion provided with a porous member.

It is a figure which shows one form of embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of this invention in cross section (Example 2).

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the dielectric thickness dependence in the slot of the electron density distribution on the substrate in the waveguide axis direction (solid line: when the thickness of the dielectric dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots is set to 5 mm. When the thicknesses of the dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots are set to 4 mm and 6 mm, respectively, in the slots at both ends, and 5 mm in the other slots).

It is a figure which shows one form of embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of this invention in cross section (Example 3).

It is a figure which shows the A-A cross section in FIG.

It is a figure which shows one form of embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of this invention in cross section (Example 4).

It is a figure which shows one form of embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of this invention in cross section (Example 5).

Implement the invention  Best form for

Hereinafter, the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

Example 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Example in the plasma processing apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line B-B in FIG.

The vacuum container 101 is made of aluminum, for example, and is in a grounded state. The substrate 107 and the mounting table 108 of the substrate 107 are provided inside the vacuum container 101. The substrate 107 is, for example, a glass substrate. A bellows 109 is formed between the mounting table 108 and the vacuum container 101, and the mounting table 108 can be lifted and lowered in the airtight state by a lifting mechanism not described in the drawing. . In the lower part of the vacuum container 101, an exhaust port 110 for exhausting the gas inside the vacuum container 101 is formed by a vacuum pump or the like formed outside the vacuum container 101.

Two rectangular waveguides 102 are arranged parallel to each other, that is, the H plane (the wide wall surface of the rectangular waveguide) is parallel to the substrate 107. One end of the waveguide 102 is a short-circuit surface, and the other end is connected to the microwave supply system 113 through the waveguide and the branch. The microwave supply system 113 is composed of, for example, a magnetron, an isolator, an incident / reflective power meter, and an automatic matcher, and can generate microwaves having a frequency of 2.45 kHz and a maximum power of 2 kHz.

A plurality of slots 103 are opened in two rows at equal intervals on the surface of the wave guide 102 on the mounting table 108 side. The interior of the waveguide 102 and the slot 103 is hollow. On the surface of the waveguide 102 on the mounting table 108 side, a rectangular parallelepiped dielectric plate 104 is disposed for each waveguide 102 over two rows of slots 103. The dielectric plate 104 is made of quartz, and may be mullite, alumina, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like.

An O (O) ring 105 is disposed to surround the slot 103, and the airtightness of the vacuum container 101 is maintained. The inside of the O-ring 105, the slot 103, and the inside of the waveguide 102 are filled with atmosphere.

The microwaves generated in the microwave supply system 113 are introduced into the two waveguides 102 through the branches, and then enter the TE ₁₀ into the waveguides 102. Propagates in mode. A part of the microwaves propagating in the waveguide 102 passes through the respective slots 103 and is supplied to the dielectric plate 104 to spread throughout the dielectric plate 104. Electrons in the plasma are accelerated by the microwave electric field in the vicinity of the dielectric plate 104 to generate and maintain the plasma.

Although microwave propagates in the dielectric plate 104, the electric field strength tends to be strong around the slot 103, and the plasma density tends to be high around the slot 103. In order to suppress the variation of the plasma density in the direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis, the distribution of the thickness of the dielectric plate 104 is optimized. As shown in FIG. 1, the thickness of the dielectric plate 104 is thick around the slot 103 where the plasma density tends to be high, and thinner at the portion away from the slot 103. In the outer circumferential portion of the dielectric plate 104, a sleeve-like flat portion is formed so that the high density plasma does not directly contact the partition member 106.

The dielectric plate 104 forms a waveguide of microwaves surrounded by top and side surfaces on a metal wall, and bottom surface on plasma. In the present embodiment, a plurality of dielectric plates 104 are formed in each waveguide 102, and the pitch between the dielectric plates 104 is set equal to the pitch between the slots 103. For this reason, the width of the dielectric plate 104 is significantly narrowed, and the microwaves propagating in the dielectric plate 104 propagate in a mode similar to a rectangular waveguide of a single mode. In such a state, since the microwave field mainly passes through the dielectric plate 104 in the thick portion of the dielectric plate 104, the plasma is not excited much, whereas in the thin portion, the plasma passes through the plasma and is actively excited. In this way, by optimizing the distribution of the thickness of the dielectric plate 104, the distribution of the plasma density in the dielectric plate 104 can be made uniform.

4 shows the result of measuring the electron density distribution on the substrate 107 in the direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis. The broken line is a result of using a dielectric plate having the same thickness, and the solid line is a result of using a dielectric plate having optimized thickness distribution. "Ar" was used for gas. The pressure was set to 100 Pa.

When a dielectric plate having the same thickness is used, the electron density around the slot 103 is high, and the plasma distribution in the direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis is remarkably nonuniform. On the other hand, when the dielectric plate which optimized the distribution of thickness is used, a substantially uniform distribution is obtained. Thus, the optimization of the thickness distribution of the dielectric plate 104 is very effective in order to obtain a uniform plasma.

In the present embodiment, the thickness of the dielectric plate 104 is in the relationship of monotonic reduction with respect to the distance from the slot 103, but may not be monotonous reduction. In addition, although the thickness of the dielectric plate 104 is continuously changed in the direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis, the flat plates may be arranged side by side to be changed in stages. In addition, in order to prevent the dark part of the plasma from moving in the direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis and to improve the stability of the plasma, a ridge may be formed in the step portion in which the thickness of the dielectric plate 104 is changed.

The dielectric plate 104 is held at the same time as being surrounded by a partition member 106 made of aluminum, for example. Since the partition member 106 is a conductor and is electrically grounded, propagation of microwaves between adjacent dielectric plates 104 is suppressed. Further, by setting the gap between the partition member 106 and the mounting table 108 shorter than the gap between the dielectric plate 104 and the mounting table 108 to raise the partition, the microwave between the dielectric plates 104 can be more reliably Propagation is suppressed. For this reason, since the manner of propagation of the microwaves in the dielectric plate 104 is independently determined for each dielectric plate, a plasma that is easy to control and excellent in uniformity and stability is obtained.

Inside the waveguide 102, a standing wave is generated due to interference between a reflected wave generated by reflection by the slot 103 or reflection in the cross section and an incident wave. In order to equalize the intensity of the microwaves emitted from the respective slots 103, the slots 103 may be disposed at a position where the wall current flowing along the H surface becomes almost maximum. That is, if the pitch in the waveguide axial direction between the slots 103 and the distance from the end face of the waveguide 102 to the adjacent slot are approximately " n × λg / 2 " (n is a natural number and λg is the wavelength in the tube) do. In the present embodiment, "n = 1" is set, but a natural number other than "1" may be used.

The in-tube wavelength (lambda) g of a rectangular waveguide provided with a slot is represented by following formula (1).

(1)

(One)

Here, "a" is the width of the H plane of the waveguide. "Ε _r " is a relative dielectric constant in the waveguide, and is "1" because it is hollow in this embodiment. "Λ ₀ " is a wavelength in free space and is the same as "c / f" in the case of using the optical speed c in vacuum and the frequency f of microwaves. In the present embodiment, the frequency of the microwave is 2.45 kHz, and the wavelength λ ₀ in the free space is 122 mm. "K" is a wavelength shortening rate, "1" if there is no slot, and a real number determined according to the impedance of the slot if there is a slot. The wavelength shortening rate K is a function of the dielectric constant, shape, position of the slot 103, the dielectric constant of the dielectric plate 104, the shape, the dielectric constant of the plasma (including complex portions), and the like. Among these, the dielectric constant of the plasma is determined by the density of electrons in the plasma, the electron temperature, the type of gas, the pressure, and the like.

Therefore, when the kind, pressure, microwave power, etc. of the gas supplied to the vacuum container 101 are changed, the wavelength shortening rate K will change and the internal wavelength (lambda) g will also change. If the wavelength inside the tube deviates from the optimum value, the intensity of the microwaves emitted from each slot 103 becomes uneven, and the uniformity of the plasma deteriorates. For this reason, it is preferable to have a function which adjusts a wavelength in a tube so that a tube wavelength may remain constant even if various conditions change.

In fact, the wavelength inside the tube is not completely consistent with the design value depending on the dimensions of the waveguide, the dielectric constant, the impedance variation of the contact portion, and the frequency variation. In particular, in the large plasma processing apparatus, since the waveguide is long and the number of slots for each waveguide is large, the deviation from the optimum value of the wavelength in the tube greatly affects the uniformity of the plasma. Even if the conditions to be used are limited and the dielectric constant of the plasma is constant, it is preferable to have a function of correcting the deviation of the wavelength in the tube.

According to the above formula (1), it can be seen that the internal wavelength λg is a function of the width a of the H plane, the relative dielectric constant epsilon _{r in the} waveguide, and the frequency f of the microwaves. That is, the intra-wavelength wavelength (lambda) g can be adjusted by changing these values.

In this embodiment, the plunger 111 which moves up and down along the inside of the E surface (narrow wall surface of a rectangular waveguide) of the waveguide 102 is formed. By moving the plunger 111 up and down and effectively changing the width a of the H surface of the waveguide 102, the intra-wavelength wavelength? G can be adjusted. For example, when the plunger 111 is moved in the upward direction, the width a of the H plane is effectively widened, and the internal wavelength? G is shortened.

The shield spiral 112 is formed between the plunger 111 and the waveguide 102, and discharge is not generated between them, so that the microwave current flowing along the wall surface flows reliably even in the sliding portion.

The microwaves propagating in the waveguide 102 propagate while releasing energy from the slots 103, and thus gradually attenuate as they get closer to the cross section. For this reason, when "(lambda) g / 2" is made to match the pitch between slots 103 completely, depending on conditions, the intensity | strength of the microwave emitted from the slot 103 may weaken at a cross section side. In this case, the position of the plunger 111 is adjusted so that "λg / 2" is set to be slightly larger than the pitch between the slots 103, or set to be slightly smaller, thereby releasing from the slot 103 on the microwave introduction side. Decreases the intensity of the microwave. As a result, good overall uniformity can be obtained. As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing a function of adjusting the wavelength in the tube, it is possible to always generate a uniform plasma under a very wide range of use conditions.

Using the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, when the plunger position h (see Fig. 1), which is the distance between the slot 103 zone face of the waveguide 102 and the tip of the plunger 111, is changed, the plasma distribution is We examined how it changed. In FIG. 5, the electron density distribution on a board | substrate of a waveguide axial direction is shown. The pitch between the slots 103 was set to 71.0 mm. The gas introduced was "Ar", the gas flow rate was 700 sccm, and the pressure was 100 Pa.

When the plunger position h is set to 12.1 mm (see dashed line), "λg / 2" is 71.0 mm which is equal to the pitch between the slots 103. At this time, the electron density on the substrate is high on the microwave introduction side and low on the cross section side. Next, when the plunger position h is set to 17.7 mm (see solid line), "λg / 2" becomes 70.1 mm which is slightly shorter than the pitch between the slots 103. At this time, the electron density on the substrate is substantially uniform. Next, when the plunger position h is set to 24.2 mm (dashed and dashed line), "(lambda) g / 2" becomes shorter and becomes 69.2 mm. At this time, the electron density on the substrate is low at the microwave introduction side and high at the cross section side. Thus, it turns out that the plasma distribution of a waveguide axial direction changes with the plunger position h, and the uniform wavelength is obtained by changing the plunger position h and optimizing the intra-wavelength wavelength (lambda) g.

Table 1 shows the results of investigating how the optimum value of the plunger position (h) changes when the introduction gas or the pressure is changed. As the "Ar" gas, when the flow rate was 700 sccm and the pressure was 100 Pa, as described above, the most uniform plasma was obtained when the plunger position h was 17.7 mm and "λg / 2" was 70.1 mm. Next, when the pressure was lowered to 10 Pa without changing the plunger position h, the wavelength shortening rate K decreased, the tube wavelength lambda g became short, and the uniformity of the plasma deteriorated. In order to return the intra-wavelength wavelength lambda g to an optimum value of 70.1 mm, the plunger position h was reduced to 15.1 mm to effectively reduce the width a of the H plane, thereby obtaining a uniform plasma again.

Condition Optimum value of plunger position (h) Gas species: flow rate Gas pressure Ar: 700 sccm 100 Pa 17.7 mm Ar: 700 sccm 10 Pa 15.1mm Ar: 600 sccm O ₂ : 50 sccm 10 Pa 24.9mm Ar: 600 sccm SiH ₄ : 100 sccm 10 Pa 27.4mm

The same experiment was carried out with the mixed gas of "Ar" and "O ₂ " and the mixed gas of "Ar" and "SiH ₄ ", and as a result, the optimum value of the plunger position (h) for obtaining a uniform plasma is different depending on the conditions. It became clear. This is because the dielectric constant of the plasma varies depending on the conditions. Thus, it has been demonstrated that even if the use conditions are changed, a uniform plasma can always be obtained by changing the plunger position h to adjust the wavelength? G.

As shown in FIG. 3, the partition member 106 is provided with a plurality of gas discharge holes 115 for discharging gas into the vacuum container 101. Each gas discharge hole 115 is connected to the gas flow passage 114. In the present embodiment, six gas flow passages 114 are disposed in parallel with the waveguide 102. The gas supplied from the gas supply system 116 is led to each gas flow passage 114 after branching into six paths, and is uniformly discharged from the plurality of gas discharge holes 115.

According to the present embodiment, since the plurality of dielectric plates 104 are formed in each waveguide 102, and the pitch between the dielectric plates 104 is set equal to the pitch between the slots 103, the dielectric plates are significantly reduced in size, Since the influence of thermal expansion of the dielectric plate is reduced, the gap between the dielectric plate 104 and the adjacent member can be set small. For this reason, even if the substrate is enlarged, plasma is not generated in the gap between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member, so that uniform and stable plasma can be efficiently generated.

Moreover, by forming the some gas discharge hole 115 in the partition member 106, the pitch between gas discharge holes can be set small. As a result, gas is supplied almost uniformly over the whole surface of the board | substrate 107, and even if the space | interval of the dielectric plate 104 and the board | substrate 107 can be narrowed, the uniform process with few deviations can be performed. In addition, since the partition member 106 is made of a conductor and is grounded, there is no problem that a microwave electric field is applied inside the gas discharge hole to generate plasma.

In addition, by forming the airtight holding part between the surface of the slot 103 side of the dielectric plate 104 and the vacuum container 101, the area where the dielectric plate 104 is in contact with the atmosphere is reduced, and the dielectric plate 104 is caused by atmospheric pressure. Since this receiving force becomes small, the required strength of the dielectric plate 104 holding portion is lowered. For this reason, the width | variety of the partition member 106 which has the holding function of the dielectric plate 104 can be narrowed. As a result, the fall of the plasma density around the partition member 106 can be suppressed, and the uniformity of plasma can be improved.

In this way, even if the substrate becomes large and the plasma generation region is widened, it is possible to efficiently generate a uniform and stable plasma under a wide range of use conditions. In addition, since the gas required for the plasma treatment is supplied almost uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate, even if the distance between the dielectric plate 104 and the substrate 107 is narrowed, uniform processing can be performed. As a result, the apparatus is very versatile and can perform high-performance processing uniformly and at high speed.

The plasma processing apparatus of the present invention has a higher plasma excitation frequency compared with a parallel plate plasma processing apparatus or an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus using high frequency for plasma excitation, so that a plasma having a low electron temperature and a high density can be obtained. For example, in the conventional parallel plasma processing apparatus, the electron temperature is about 3 eV to 10 eV and the electron density is about 10 ¹⁰ to 10 ¹¹ cm ^-3 , but in the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the electron temperature is 0.3 eV to 3 eV, the electron density is 10 ¹¹ ~10 ¹³ ㎝ ^-3 degree. For this reason, there is a feature that excellent processing can be performed at high speed and without damaging the substrate.

The plasma processing apparatus of the present invention was applied to the treatment of part of the organic EL display manufacturing process. The applied process is film formation of a silicon nitride film by a plasma chemical substrate reaction method. With also supplies the mixed gas from the gas supply system 116, the "Ar, SiH ₄ and NH _3", and introduced into the vacuum container 101 from the gas-discharging holes 115 through the gas flow path 114, It exhausted from the exhaust port 110 using the vacuum pump. The flow rate of each gas was set to 400 sccm, 30 sccm and 120 sccm, respectively. A glass substrate was used as the substrate 107. The substrate temperature was set at 300 ° C.

The silicon nitride film is used as a gate insulating film, an interlayer insulating film, or a protective film, and it is required to increase the breakdown voltage of the insulation breakdown, reduce the leakage current, and speed up the deposition rate. The dielectric breakdown voltage of the silicon nitride film formed using the conventional parallel plate plasma processing apparatus is, for example, 5.4 MV / cm, the leakage current is 2.4 × 10 ^-6 A / cm ^{- 2} , and the deposition rate is 110 nm / min. It was. On the other hand, withstand voltage of the thin film formed using the plasma treatment apparatus of the present invention are, for example, 11.8MV / ㎝, leakage current 1.6 × 10 ^-8 A / ㎝ ^- and ^2, the film formation rate was 280㎚ / min . In this manner, a silicon nitride film having excellent characteristics can be formed at a high speed as compared with the conventional plasma processing apparatus. In addition, the uniformity was also greatly improved.

In the present embodiment, the dielectric plate 104 is rectangular, but may be columnar or polygonal. The thickness of the dielectric plate 104 may be the same. The partition member 106 and the vacuum container 101 may be integral, and may be covered with the insulator etc. It is not necessary to form a step in the partition portion. The waveguide 102 may be a ridge waveguide, a circular waveguide, or the like. The number of waveguides 102 may be other than two, the number of slots 103 per waveguide may be other than 12, and the number of the gas flow paths 114 may be other than six. The gas supply system 116, the gas flow passage 114, and the gas discharge holes 115 may be provided in plural systems so as to be configured to supply different gases, respectively. In the waveguide 102, the slots 103 are arranged in two rows with a "λg / 2" pitch, but may be one row. In addition, one row and the other row may be arranged differently.

In this embodiment, although the internal wavelength is adjusted by forming the movable plunger 111 and changing the position of the plunger, the internal wavelength is adjusted by changing the frequency (f) of the microwave which generate | occur | produces in the microwave supply system 113. You may do so. In this case, the movable plunger 111 is unnecessary.

Using the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, it was investigated how the distribution of plasma changes when the frequency f of microwaves is changed. 6 shows the electron density distribution on the substrate in the waveguide axial direction. The plunger position h was fixed at 17.7 mm. The pitch between the slots 103 was set to 71.0 mm. The gas introduced was "Ar", the gas flow rate was 700 sccm, and the pressure was 100 Pa.

When the frequency of the microwaves generated in the microwave supply system 113 is set to 2.43 kHz, which is 0.02 kHz lower than the standard frequency (see dashed line), "λg / 2" is 70.8 mm. At this time, the electron density on the substrate is high on the microwave introduction side and low on the cross section side. Next, when it sets to 2.45 Hz which is a standard frequency (refer a solid line), "(lambda) g / 2" will be slightly shortened and will be 70.1 mm. At this time, the electron density on the substrate is substantially uniform. Next, when it is set to 2.47 kHz, which is 0.02 kHz higher than the standard frequency (single dashed line), "λg / 2" becomes shorter and becomes 69.4 mm. At this time, the electron density on the substrate is low at the microwave introduction side and high at the cross section side. In this way, it can be seen that the plasma distribution in the waveguide axis direction changes with the frequency of the microwave, and the uniform plasma is obtained by changing the frequency to optimize the tube wavelength λg.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing another form of the gas discharge unit. The gas discharge hole 118 is opened in the gas hole formation bolt 117. The partition member 106 is fixed to the vacuum container 101 by the plurality of gas hole forming bolts 117. Each gas discharge hole 118 is connected to the gas flow passage 114, and the gas introduced into the gas flow passage 114 is discharged into the vacuum vessel 101 from the plurality of gas discharge holes 118. Since the gas hole forming bolt 117 has a function of holding the partition member 106 and the dielectric plate 104 and a function of releasing gas, the structure can be simplified.

8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing still another embodiment of the gas discharge unit. The partition member 106 is provided with the porous member 119 which consists of an alumina, for example. The gas guided to the porous member 119 by the gas flow passage 114 exits the porous member 119 and is discharged into the vacuum container 101. It is possible to discharge more uniformly than to discharge the gas from the gas discharge hole.

Example 2

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. Here, only differences from the first embodiment will be described.

On the surface of the wave guide 102 on the mounting table 108 side, a rectangular parallelepiped dielectric plate 104 is disposed for each slot 103. In addition, the structure which arranges the dielectric plate 104 over the some waveguide 102 may be sufficient.

Inside the waveguide 102, a dielectric 201 in the waveguide is formed. The waveguide dielectric 201 is made of a fluorine resin having a relative dielectric constant of 2.1, and may be quartz, mullite, alumina, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like. In this way, when the dielectric is inserted into the waveguide, the dimension of the waveguide cross section and the tube wavelength? G are reduced. When the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric waveguide to "ε _r", the dimensions and the hall wavelength (λg) in the waveguide cross section, compared to the case of the hollow fiber is doubled ^{"1 /} ε _r ^1/2". By forming the waveguide dielectric 201 inside the waveguide 102, the cross-sectional dimension of the waveguide 102 can be reduced and the device can be miniaturized. In addition, since the pitch between the slots 103 becomes small, the pitch between the gas discharge holes becomes small, and the gas can be discharged more uniformly.

Inside the slot 103, flat dielectric slots 202 and 203 are formed. The dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots have different dielectric constants, for example, the dielectrics 202 in the slots are made of fluorine resin having a relative dielectric constant of 2.1, and the dielectrics 203 in the slots are made of quartz having a dielectric constant of 3.8. The dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots may be mullite, alumina, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like.

In this way, when the dielectric is inserted into the slot 103, the intensity of the microwaves emitted from the slot 103 changes. In addition, the distribution of plasma can be controlled by changing the intensity of the microwave emitted from the slot 103 in accordance with the dielectric constant of the dielectric in the slot. In reality, since it is difficult to continuously change the dielectric constant, in this embodiment, two dielectrics having different dielectric constants are inserted into the slots, and the effective dielectric constants in the slots 103 are changed by changing their thicknesses from the slots 103. The intensity of the emitted microwaves is controlled.

The plasma density in the plasma processing apparatus tends to be lowered at the periphery of the substrate. For this reason, if the intensity | strength of the microwave emitted from the slot of a peripheral part is set to become larger than another, uniform plasma will be easy to be obtained. In the present embodiment, in the slots 103 across the waveguide 102, the thicknesses of the dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots are 4 mm and 6 mm, respectively, and in the other slots, the dielectrics in the slots 202 and 203 Both were set to 5 mm.

FIG. 10 shows the results of investigating how the distribution of electron density on the substrate in the waveguide axis direction changes when the thicknesses of the dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots are changed using the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. The gas introduced was "Ar", the gas flow rate was 700 sccm, and the pressure was 100 Pa.

When the thickness of the dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots is set to 5 mm in all the slots 103 (solid line), it can be seen that the electron density decreases at both ends of the substrate. On the other hand, only in the slots 103 at both ends, when the thicknesses of the dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slots are set to 4 mm and 6 mm, respectively (dashed lines), the decrease in the electron density at both ends of the substrate is suppressed and is almost uniform. You can see that it is a distribution. This is because the intensity of the microwaves emitted from the slot 103 at both ends is stronger than the other due to the thickness of the dielectric 203 in the slot being thicker than the dielectric in the slot 202 in the slot 103 at both ends. . Thus, by varying the thickness of each of the dielectrics 202 and 203 in the slot, it is possible to finely optimize the distribution of the plasma in the waveguide axial direction.

In the present embodiment, the dielectric in the slot is divided into two parts in the left and right directions in FIG. 9, but other than the two parts. Moreover, you may divide in the up-down direction in FIG. 9, and may divide in the perpendicular | vertical direction to the paper surface.

Example 3

11 is a cross-sectional view showing the third embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 11. FIG. Here, only differences from the first embodiment will be described.

The single rectangular waveguide 301 is arranged such that the E plane (narrow wall surface of the rectangular waveguide) is parallel to the substrate 107. One end of the waveguide 301 has a short-circuit surface, and a microwave supply system 113 is connected to the other end. In this embodiment, since an elongate plasma can be generated, it is suitable for performing a plasma process to an elongate member, or performing a plasma process, moving a large area board | substrate perpendicular to a waveguide axis.

A plurality of slots 103 are opened at equal intervals on the surface of the wave guide 301 on the mounting table 108 side. On the surface of the wave guide 301 on the mounting table 108 side, a rectangular parallelepiped dielectric plate 104 is disposed for each slot 103. The pitch in the waveguide axial direction between the slots 103 and the distance from the end face of the waveguide 301 to the adjacent slot may be approximately "n x lambda g / 2" (n is a natural number). In the present embodiment, "n = 1" is set, but a natural number other than "1" may be used.

In this embodiment, the plunger 302 which comprises the E surface of the waveguide 301, and moves up and down is formed. The support rod 304 which consists of stainless steel is being fixed to the plunger 302, for example. The wavelength inside the tube can be adjusted by moving the plunger 302 up and down together with the supporting rod 304 from the outside of the waveguide 301 to change the width of the H plane of the waveguide 301. For example, when the plunger 302 is moved in the upward direction, the width of the H surface becomes wider and the wavelength in the tube becomes shorter (see equation (1) above). In addition, the plurality of plungers 302 may be arranged side by side in the waveguide axis direction. In this case, the inside wavelength can be adjusted more precisely by changing the width of the H plane for each plunger 302. In this embodiment, by providing the function to adjust the wavelength inside the tube, it is possible to always generate a uniform plasma under a very wide range of use conditions.

The plunger 302 is formed with a choke dielectric 303. The choke dielectric 303 is made of alumina having a relative dielectric constant of 9.4, and may be fluorine resin, quartz, mullite, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like, or may be hollow. The length of portion 11 is d, it is set to choke "1/4" of the microwave wavelength in the dielectric 303, i.e., _{"λ 0 / (4 × ε r} 1/2) ". Here, "λ ₀ " is a wavelength in the free space of microwaves generated by the microwave supply system 113, and "ε _r " is a relative dielectric constant of the choke dielectric 303.

Such a structure is called a choke structure and is used for a waveguide flange, a waveguide sliding part such as a matcher, and the like.

Next, the principle of operation of the choke structure will be described.

The choke dielectric 303 section operates as a waveguide of a short-circuited microwave, and a standing wave is generated by the interference between the incident wave and the reflected wave. Part B of FIG. 11 is a short circuit surface, the electric field in the choke dielectric 303 is "zero", and the electric current which flows into a wall surface is the maximum. On the other hand, in the C portion that is "1/4" wavelength away from the B portion, the electric field in the choke dielectric 303 is maximum, and the current flowing in the wall surface is "zero". In addition, the D portion separated from the B portion by "1/2" wavelength is equivalently short-circuited, the electric field in the choke dielectric 303 is "zero", and the current flowing on the wall surface is maximum.

Since D addition is equivalently short-circuited, the distribution of electromagnetic waves in the waveguide 301 remains unchanged, with or without a choke structure. In addition, since the current flowing to the wall surface in the portion C is "zero", even if there is a gap in the sliding portion, microwave leakage or discharge does not occur, and the microwave can be propagated reliably.

A shield spiral 305 is formed between the supporting rod 304 and the vacuum container 101, so that leakage of microwaves to the outside of the apparatus can be reliably prevented.

As shown in FIG. 12, the partition member 106 includes a plurality of gas discharge holes 307 for discharging gas into the vacuum container 101, and gases for guiding gas into the plurality of gas discharge holes 307. The flow path 306 is formed. The gas flow passage 306 is connected to a gas supply system.

In the present embodiment, the waveguide 301 is single, but a plurality of waveguides 301 may be arranged side by side, and the dielectric plate 104 may be arranged over the plurality of waveguides 301. The number of slots 103 may be other than six, and the gas flow path 306 may be other than seven. You may comprise the gas supply system, the gas flow path 306, and the gas discharge | emission hole 307 in multiple systems, and supply so that different gas may be supplied, respectively. The thickness of the dielectric plate 104 may have a distribution in accordance with the distance from the slot 103. The insides of the waveguide 301 and the slot 103 are hollow, but a dielectric may be inserted as described in the second embodiment. Instead of the choke structure, a shield spiral, a leaf spring, or the like may be formed between the plunger 302 and the waveguide 301. In addition, the shield spiral 305 does not need to be formed.

Example 4

Fig. 13 is a sectional view showing the fourth embodiment in the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. Here, only differences from the third embodiment will be described.

The single rectangular waveguide 401 is arranged such that the E surface is parallel to the substrate 107. One end of the waveguide 401 has a short-circuit surface and a microwave supply system 113 is connected to the other end.

In the waveguide 401, a wavelength adjusting rod 402 is inserted from a plurality of holes opened in the upper surface of the waveguide 401, respectively. The wavelength adjustment rods 402 are arranged at equal intervals at intervals of " λg / 2 ", but other intervals may be used. The wavelength adjusting rod 402 is made of copper with gold plating, and may be aluminum, fluorine resin, quartz, mullite, alumina, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like. Intra-wavelength wavelength (lambda) g can be adjusted by moving each wavelength adjustment rod 402 up and down from the outside of the waveguide 401, and changing the length inserted into the waveguide 401. FIG.

In this embodiment, although the waveguide 401 is single, the waveguides 401 may be arranged side by side, or the dielectric plate 104 may be arranged over the waveguides 401. The inside of the waveguide 301 and the slot 103 is hollow, but a dielectric may be inserted. Between the wavelength adjusting rod 402 and the waveguide 401, a choke structure, a shield spiral, a leaf spring, or the like may be formed.

Example 5

14 is a cross-sectional view showing the fifth embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. Here, only differences from the third embodiment will be described.

The single rectangular waveguide 501 is disposed so that the E surface is parallel to the substrate 107. One end of the waveguide 501 is a short-circuit surface, and the other end is connected to the microwave supply system 113.

On the surface of the wave guide 501 on the mounting table 108 side, a plurality of slots 103 are opened at equal intervals. Inside the slot 103, a dielectric 504 in the slot is inserted, and is configured so that the intensity of the microwaves emitted from the slot 103 is appropriately achieved. The slot dielectric 504 is made of alumina, and may be fluorine resin, quartz, mullite, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like, or hollow.

In the waveguide 501, a rectangular parallelepiped dielectric 502 is inserted into the waveguide 501, which is smaller than the internal dimension of the waveguide 501. The waveguide dielectric 502 is made of a fluorine resin, and may be quartz, mullite, alumina, sapphire, yttria, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or the like. The supporting rod 503 made of, for example, a fluororesin is fixed to the waveguide dielectric 502. The in-wavelength wavelength (lambda) g can be adjusted by moving the dielectric material 502 in a waveguide up and down with the support rod 503 from the outside of the waveguide 501.

According to Equation (1), it is understood that when the dielectric is provided inside the hollow waveguide, the wavelength? G in the tube is shortened. In the case where the size of the dielectric is smaller than the internal dimension of the waveguide, if the dielectric is provided in a portion where the electric field in the waveguide is stronger, the tube wavelength λg becomes shorter. The electric field applied between the facing H planes of the rectangular waveguide is the strongest on the centerline of the H plane and weakens as it approaches the E plane. Therefore, when the dielectric 502 in the waveguide is disposed on the centerline of the H plane, the wavelength λg in the tube is shortest, and moves up or down from the centerline. Thus, by adjusting the wavelength inside the tube in accordance with the position of the dielectric 502 in the waveguide, it is possible to surely propagate the microwave even without using a shield spiral or a choke structure.

In the present embodiment, the waveguide 501 is single, but the waveguides 501 may be arranged side by side, or the dielectric plate 104 may be arranged over the waveguides 501.

When the microwaves introduced into the waveguide are propagated through the slots through the slots, and the gas supplied in the vacuum container is converted into plasma to perform plasma treatment on the substrate surface, a plurality of dielectric plates are formed for each waveguide arranged in parallel, Unintentional plasma is generated in the gap between the dielectric plate and the adjacent member by arranging a partitioned member made of conductor and grounded between adjacent dielectric plates, and moving the plunger up and down to adjust the wavelength in the tube of the waveguide to an optimum value. Since there is no case, it can apply to the use which needs to generate stable plasma efficiently.

Claims (27)

A microwave supplying system for supplying a container into which the plasma is excited, a microwave required to excite the plasma in the container, a waveguide connected to the microwave supplying system and having a plurality of slots opened, and a microwave emitted from the slot. A plasma processing apparatus comprising a dielectric plate for propagating a plasma to a plasma, And a means for adjusting the wavelength of the microwaves propagating in the waveguide from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 1, A part of the conductor wall constituting the waveguide is configured to move from outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 2, The waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, and is configured to move at least a portion of the E plane (narrow wall surface) tube wall of the waveguide from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 1, And a plurality of rods inserted into the waveguide, and configured to move each of the rods from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 1, And a first dielectric member in the waveguide, and configured to move the first dielectric member from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 1, And the wavelength is adjusted by changing the frequency of the microwaves supplied by the microwave supply system. A plurality of slots connected to a vessel in which plasma is excited, a gas supply system for supplying gas into the vessel, a microwave supply system for supplying microwaves necessary for exciting the plasma in the vessel, and a plurality of slots A plasma processing apparatus comprising the opened one or two or more waveguides, a plurality of dielectric plates for propagating microwaves emitted from the slots to the plasma, and a mounting table accommodated in the container and on which the substrate to be processed is placed, A plurality of said dielectric plates are formed for each said waveguide, and the partition member which consists of a conductor at least one part is formed between the said adjacent dielectric plates, The plasma processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 7, wherein And a plurality of waveguides. The method according to claim 7 or 8, At least a part of the airtight holding part between the inside and the outside of the container is formed between the surface of the slot side of the dielectric plate and the container. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, A pitch in the traveling direction of the microwaves propagating in the waveguide between the dielectric plates and a pitch in the traveling direction between the slots is substantially the same. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, The pitch of the said advancing direction between the said slots is substantially the same as the natural multiple of "1/2" of the microwave wavelength propagating in the said waveguide. The method of claim 11, The pitch of the said advancing direction between the said slots is substantially the same as "1/2" times the said wavelength, The plasma processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 12, And a second dielectric member formed in at least a portion of the inside of the slot. The method of claim 13, And a plurality of the second dielectric members having different dielectric constants are formed in at least a portion of the slots. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 14, And a third dielectric member is formed in at least a portion of the inside of the waveguide. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 15, And the waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, and the slot is opened in the H plane (wide wall surface) of the waveguide. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 15, The waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, and the slot is opened in the E plane (narrow wall surface) of the waveguide. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 17, And a function of adjusting the wavelength of the microwaves propagating in the waveguide from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 18, And a portion of the pipe wall of the waveguide is configured to move from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 18, And a plurality of rods inserted in the waveguide, and configured to move each of the rods from the outside of the waveguide. The method of claim 18, And a first dielectric member in the waveguide, and configured to move the first dielectric member from the outside of the waveguide. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 21, The thickness of the dielectric plate is set in accordance with the distance from the slot facing the dielectric plate. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 22, The space between the partition member and the mounting table is set shorter than the distance between the dielectric plate and the mounting table. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 23, The said partition member is equipped with the gas discharge function for discharge | released the gas introduce | transduced from the said gas supply system into the said container, The plasma processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 24, The said partition member is equipped with the some gas discharge | emission hole for discharging gas in the said container, The plasma processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 25, The partition member includes a gas flow path for guiding a gas introduced from the gas supply system to the plurality of gas discharge holes. A product is produced by performing a treatment using the plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

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